Brothers from Union City sentenced to prison for selling Ecstasy

SACRAMENTO -- Two brothers from Union City have been sentenced to prison for running a statewide network distributing the popular club drug Ecstasy, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Masod Rahimi, 26, and Mansore Rahimi, 24, distributed large quantities of MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, on a monthly basis throughout California and in parts of Nevada and Georgia. They imported the drug from Canada, prosecutors said.

On Thursday, Masod Rahimi was sentenced to nine years in prison. Mansore Rahimi received a sentence of two years and 11 months. The sentences were handed down in Sacramento federal court by U.S. District Court Judge Morrison C. England Jr.

Law enforcement identified the brothers as distributors of the drug in April 2010, court documents said. The brothers often used the proceeds of Ecstasy sales to buy methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexican-based trafficking organizations in Southern California and Mexico. Those drugs were then transported to Canada, where they fetched a premium price, the documents said.

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Fremont police and the Southern Alameda County Major Crimes Task Force.